Example problem based on Shepard & Metzlar's "Mental Rotation Task": are these two three-dimensional shapes identical when rotated?
Mental rotation is the ability to rotate mental representations of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects as it is related to the visual representation of such rotation within the human mind.[1] There is a relationship between areas of the brain associated with perception and mental rotation. There could also be a relationship between the cognitive rate of spatial processing, general intelligence and mental rotation.[2][3][4]
Mental rotation can be described as the brain moving objects in order to help understand what they are and where they belong. Mental rotation has been studied to try to figure out how the mind recognizes objects in their environment. Researchers generally call such objects stimuli. Mental rotation is one cognitive function for the person to figure out what the altered object is.
Mental rotation can be separated into the following cognitive stages:[2]
Create a mental image of an object from all directions (imagining where it continues straight vs. turns).
Rotate the object mentally until a comparison can be made (orientating the stimulus to other figure).
Make the comparison.
Decide if the objects are the same or not.
Report the decision (reaction time is recorded when a lever is pulled or a button is pressed).
^Shepard, R. N.; Metzler, J. (19 February 1971). "Mental Rotation of Three-Dimensional Objects". Science. 171 (3972): 701–703. Bibcode:1971Sci...171..701S. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.610.4345. doi:10.1126/science.171.3972.701. PMID 5540314. S2CID 16357397.
^ abJohnson, A. Michael (December 1990). "Speed of Mental Rotation as a Function of Problem-Solving Strategies". Perceptual and Motor Skills. 71 (3): 803–806. doi:10.2466/pms.1990.71.3.803. PMID 2293182. S2CID 34521929.
^Jones, Bill; Anuza, Teresa (December 1982). "Effects of Sex, Handedness, Stimulus and Visual Field on 'Mental Rotation'". Cortex. 18 (4): 501–514. doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(82)80049-x. PMID 7166038. S2CID 4479407.
^Hertzog, Christopher; Rypma, Bart (February 1991). "Age differences in components of mental-rotation task performance". Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society. 29 (2): 209–212. doi:10.3758/BF03335237.
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